


Some petals bundled together

by GaylartMess



Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Domestic Fluff, Drabbles, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Mentions of Death, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No over all plot, OC X CANON, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Requests, Shipping, Soulmate AU, Writing practice, ernesto's only mentioned tbh but still, just fluff, kinda divergent from 'Flores'??, mostly oc x canon ships stuff tbh, pre-death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-06-06 04:56:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15187271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaylartMess/pseuds/GaylartMess
Summary: Decided to have a go at a drabble list, and got a few suggestions that I'm gonna go through.Mostly oc x canon ships, but I'll hopefully write some other's in the future as well.





	1. It's 2am. Got to sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Suggested by Anonnymous
> 
> Oscar x Leonor
> 
> Drabble - "It's 2am, go back to sleep."

Leonor startled at a noise behind her, twisting about at the gentle creak of floorboards behind her.   
Her eyes burnt a little, weighing her eyelids, as she blinked. The dim light of her lamp lit her crafting desk well enough, and illuminated Oscar’s figure in the doorway, catching the colourful markings and tired expression. It seemed emphasised as the shadows fell in the crooks and curves of his skull.  
She smiled gently, watching as he stepped in dressed in sleepwear, his normally neatly parted hair tousled from sleep. His glasses were disturbed as he pressed a knuckle to one of his eyes, rubbing it tiredly with a yawn.

She shook her head gently. “It’s 2am. Go back to sleep.” She scolded gently.

Oscar scoffed, re-adjusting his glasses. “You hardly have any place telling me to go back to sleep.” 

Leonor sighed, rolling her eyes briefly as she faced her desk again, not completely turning herself back around on the stool as she pulled the fabric she was stitching up into her lap. Footsteps approached and Leonor found herself pressed against Oscar’s chest, arms curling around her shoulders in a light hug. 

She shifted the needle through the fabric as she gently leaned back into his touch.

She paused mid stitch, reaching up to cover her mouth as a yawn forced its way across.   
She heard Oscar tut, and he nuzzled his face into her dark hair.

“Ven a la cama, por favor?” He pleaded gently.  
She continued to stitch.

“I’m not tired, Oscar…”

“Querido…” He whined, burying his face further against her as he held her closer. She huffed, shaking her head.

“If your tired, go back to bed, mi amor.” She stated it as a fact, flinching a little when the tip of the needle accidentally poked her thumb. It was only bone, but it wasn’t a pleasant sensation.  
Oscar whined again, drawing it out far too long to not be completely sincere. Leonor laughed breathlessly as he leaned down onto her more and she shifted on her seat to secure herself.

“You’re going to push me off.” She warned, a smile breaking across her mouth.  
She felt Oscar shift, stilling for a moment.

“…Would you come to bed if you weren’t at the desk, anymore?” He asked, far to calmly for Leonor’s concern. She didn’t miss the thoughtful drawl in his voice and the way his arms shifted a little.  
She huffed, pulling a hand away from her stitching to reach up, finding his face with a little effort and pushing it gently with the tips of her fingers.

“You wouldn’t dare.” She could practically feel Oscar’s mischievous smile and she stumbled to correct herself. “Not while I have a needle in my hand, Oscar! You might ruin what I've done so far.”

Oscar hummed gently, arms sliding down to settle around her waist, his chin tucking against her right shoulder, the rim of his glasses brushing against hers with a faint click.

They sat in silence for a moment, and Leonor tried to focus her attention back onto her stitching, to the purple bundle of fabric in her lap. She felt a pang of irritation, knowing fully well that she wasn’t going to be able to continue as well as she had been now. Not when she Knew Oscar was up, waiting for her, trying to convince her to come to bed.

But she couldn’t just leave in the middle like this!

“If I finish this tonight-” She began, voice lowering as the desire to go to bed began to rear itself further out, “-I’ll have more time to start the other gifts tomorrow evening.”

Her partner was quiet, chin still resting on her shoulder and she was suddenly aware of him watching her.  
She fumbled with the needle a little, dropping it in her lap. Oscar shifted, and she smiled as he pressed a kiss against her shoulder before burying his face into the crook of her neck. 

“You have time… “ He mumbled, voice low. He was leaning on her more than he hand been before. “You don’t have to get it all done now. You don’t even need to make gifts for everyone…”

She shifted, and Oscar barely moved as she did.

“I want to.” She spoke firmly, brows furrowing as she sat a little straighter. For a moment she worried Oscar was going to slide down and hit his face, but she was relieved when he snuggled himself back into her shoulder.   
She sighed gently, shoulders lowering as her voice softened. “You know how I feel about gifts…”

He nodded, “I know, I know…” A little more hung after his sentence, and Leonor waited for a moment, expecting him to finish.

She finished another stitch, and her hand felt so heavy. She sighed, leaning back into Oscar as she rested her hands in her lap. They stayed there for a moment, still.  
Oscar’s breathing was being to steady and Leonor shifted so she was looking at him a bit better, a small smile quirking at his relaxed face, his eyes closed.  
She sighed, glancing at the fabric in her lap, and then back at Oscar falling asleep on her.  
She scooped the fabric and stitching from her lap and placed it on the workbench. Oscar made a small noise as the movement jostled him, and he reluctantly slid himself away as she halfheartedly put a few pieces away on the desk.

“Okay, okay…” Leonor mumbled, rolling up a piece of thread and arranging it with the others before standing, stumbling a little as her legs threatened to give way after being stuck in place for so long. She smiled as Oscar hugged her again, forehead resting against hers as his hands slid from her back to her arms, trailing down to lock his fingers against hers.  
She squeezed his hands, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him. She giggled as his moustache brushed against her. She never really got over how it felt, and she had doubts that she ever would. Oscar smiled, nuzzling her face and causing her to giggle more.  
They pulled away, and Leonor hummed tiredly, resting her head against Oscar’s chest.

“Let’s go to bed, then…”

Oscar’s head lolled against hers and he sighed.

“Sí por favor…”


	2. "It's okay. We'll figure it out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 36 - “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”  
> Valeria and Leonor  
> Canon-ish universe, Pre-death and after death.

“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.” Leonor smiled reassuringly, reaching over to squeeze Valeria’s shoulder. 

The younger teen huffed, blowing hair out of her face. Her cheeks were reddened and a glow of sweat had collected across her forehead as she stood from the table and out of Leonor’s reach, still over-heated from scrapped together insults that had been tumbling from her lips moments ago.  
She shook her head, turning and pressing herself against the kitchen counter and leaning close to the open window.

 

“It’s too hot…” She muttered disapprovingly.

 

“Do you want to go outside? Sit in the shade maybe?” Leonor suggested, shrugging a little as she reached up to re-adjust her hair tie. Valeria stumbled back to her seat and flopped down, her upper body draping onto the table, forehead pressed down onto the wooden surface with a half-hearted groan.

“It’ll be nice! It won’t be good to stay in here like this.” Leonor stood, brushing down her faded pink dress and glancing over to the seventeen year old, head still down on the table.  
Leonor’s smile fell a little, but widened a little with a sense of purpose as she reached over and gently shook Valeria’s shoulder.

“Ah, I know! Why don't you teach me to climb trees? You always wanted me to give it a go!” She tittered a little, a nervous crease forming on her brow despite her smile “Even if it could be a little dangerous…”

 

Valeria mumbled something, and Leonor stood for a moment trying to take in what the other said.

 

“¿...Perdón...?”

 

Valeira tilted her head so her cheek was squished against the table instead of her face, holding a deep frown.

“I said,” She began, voice flat, “I thought you said I was too old to be climbing trees? Or that it’s ‘improper’ or something?”

Leonor huffed, glancing off to the side as she folded her arms. “I’m not allowed to change my opinion, now?”

Valeria smirked.  
“You’re more of a tree hugger than a tree climber, Leo.”

Leonor ‘humphed’, tilting her head up and looking down at Valeria through her glasses. “I can be just as outlandish as you, you know.”

Valeria snorted, moving to rest her head against her forearm, arm draping over her head and fingers twirling into her curls. “Sí, sí, claro.”  
Leonor pushed her glasses up on her nose, thumb pressing against the rim, ans Valeria unfurled her arm and dragged herself up. She smiled, but Leonor noticed how it hardly reached her cheeks as it usually did.

“Look, Leonor. I…” She trailed off, glancing about. She settled on the table, brushing her thumb against the surface briefly before locking her gaze with the taller woman. “I appreciate this... I, uh…” She trailed off, shrugging one shoulder as her gaze danced across the ceiling.

Leonor nodded, smile falling a bit more. “I know you liked him a lot, but you can be happy without him.” She spoke softly, uncertain.  
Valeria breathed in, deep and steady. She huffed, eyes closing as she rest her hands on her hips. She stepped toward Leonor, a smirk working it’s way across her face.

“Come on,” She spoke, walking toward the doorway with grin growing more mischievous by the second. “I wanna see you fall out a tree.”

Leonor laughed, resting a hand across her chest. “Ah, how dare you!” She smiled, eyes narrowing and nose wrinkling as she shoved her shoulder against Valeria’s, hardly nudging the smaller woman as they exited the house.

 

 

“-You were only half-way up the trunk!”

“It was scary, Valeria! It was so high up-!”

“High-up?” Valeria huffed out a laugh. “It was tiny! It was a hardly a tree, Leo.”

Leonor hummed, frowning and glancing away in shame. “It felt scary to me…” She mumbled as she lifted her glass to her mouth, the material gently clicking against her skull as she took a drink.  
Valeira chuckled, leaning forward in her seat and glancing out toward the vivid colours of the Land of The Dead, a content smile playing across her skull, lifting the heart marking above where her lips would be.

The two woman basked in the pause of the conversation, the chatter of other people outside the Cafetería at their own tales or passing by filled the otherwise pleasant quiet.  
Leonor placed her glass down, and followed Valeria’s gaze toward the city.

“I can’t imagine being able to navigate this place so well…” Leonor mumbled, still in awe at the sights.

Valeria shrugs. “It gets easier after the first year, don’t worry.” Her voice was a little wistful, distant.

Leonor glanced over, shoulders tensing a little. Valeria continued to watch the city, chin resting in her skeletal hands.   
She glanced down at her glass, watching the liquid in it for a moment. She smiled gently.

“The tree’s here aren't real… It’s such a shame, really.”   
Valeira smirked, looking toward her finally.  
“I’m not bothered about that. I could climb them if I wanted, but I’m still bitter about it.”  
Leonor flinched. She remembered seeing her in the casket for the first time, after hearing the details from a distraught Alejandro.

She’d held him as he had shook- no- trembled, hugging her so tight she thought she’d crumble, sobbing into her shoulder.  
She was distraught to think about how terrifying it had been for him. She hadn’t seen anything, but watching anyone climb trees had become a lot harder after that. It had taken everyone a while to not be a little too cautious climbing anywhere when need be.  
It faded out for her as the years went by. It got easier to take chances, and not wait for something bad to happen.  
She let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes tight as she fought off the images.

 

“Lo siento.”

Valeria waved a hand nonchalantly, smiling. “No te preocupes.” She frowned over toward Leonor and reached forward. The shorter woman, placed her hand over Leonor’s, smiling hopefully.

“Look, I know the circumstances are a little-” She shrugged, rolling her eyes. “-Depressing, I guess. I’m glad you’re here though. I missed you, hermana.”

Leonor smiled, a tightening blooming in her chest as she squeezed Valeria’s hand.

“I missed you too.” She mumbled, voice wavering slightly, blinking a small sting from her eyes.  
Valeria laughed.

“Hey, don’t cry on me! I’ll start crying if you go.” Leonor laughed, huffing as she brushed the fingertips of her free hand under her sockets, skewing her glasses. She pushed them back into place with her thumb.

“Ah,” She sighed, shoulders lowering as she smiled sheepishly. “Lo siento… I suppose it’s still-?” She trailed off, glancing toward the buildings and watching an majestic deer-like alebrije settle onto a rooftop, large wings folding against its body as it looked toward her, head held high.  
“-Overwhelming, I suppose.” She finished, voice hardly raising above a murmur.

Valeria squeezed her hand, drawing back her attention. 

“Don’t worry…” Valeria smirked, confident and knowing. “It’s like you said... We’ll figure it out.


	3. "What? No, I never said that..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 19 - “What? No, I never said that…”  
> Valeria x Felipe  
> Canon-ish universe

Valeria huffed, turning on her heel and stomped toward the kitchen, glancing over her shoulder and briefly shooting Felipe a flat look.

“What? No, I never said that…” She shook her head, turning herself toward the cabinets and opening one with more force than she knew was necessary.   
Felipe trailed behind her, hands clasped close to his chest. She managed to stay ahead of him despite her shorter legs. He easily caught up to her with quick long strides stood a little to her left, hunching a little to be closer to her height.   
Valeria refused to glance his way because she knew he was grinning.

“Sí, you did! I heard you myself, Mi querido amor!”

Valeria tensed and pulled out a small bowl, holding it over her mouth as she swung the cabinet shut and hurried across the kitchen to the table, slamming the bowl down and avoiding Felipe’s gaze like it would burn her. She could practically hear her novio’s joy shining in his words and made her skull burn with embarrassment.

He followed her still as she grumbled, crossing her arms and staring at the the table defiantly.

“Well, what if you misheard me, hm? What then?” A slight snap found its way into her tone, wanting nothing more than to rid herself of the anxious feeling starting to grip her.

She had to get her alebrije’s food out from the cabinet and realised she had more or less forced herself into a bit of a corner. The food was on the counter behind Felipe and Valeria wasn’t ready to let him see just how flustered she was. He could read her wrong and things would end up worse than they were!  
She attempted to march past him, not looking at him directly -Dios, the way he was gazing at her made her want to melt- and focusing her attention on the bright yellow box of Alebrije food on the counter.  
She yelped when she was pulled back as Felipe’s hands found hers, the room spinning for a moment before she was pulled against Felipe. Valeria frowned at how loosely his arms were settle across her back, his chin resting on top of her head.   
She grumbled, but remained where she was, reaching a hand up to rest against his chest, her fingers mindlessly brushing the bumps of his ribs through his shirt.  
His hold tightened as she did so, sighing gently.

“…If you didn’t mean it… I, uh-”   
He began, and Valeria winced. She was sure she could hear disappointment. She didn’t want guilt on top of every other confusing emotion bubbling around her skull at the moment.

“Don’t.” She demanded. It lacked bite, sounding as drained as she suddenly felt.   
They stood for a moment, lingering and Valeria frowned in thought. Valeria moved so that her head was off Felipe’s chest, and she shifted herself to trail her hands down Felipe’s arms. She guided his arms off her back and brought his hands close, not daring to glance up the entire time. She watched herself rub her thumb against his hands and he squeezed back, quick and gentle.  
She sighed, trying to prepare what she wanted to say.

“It’s not that I didn’t mean it…” She began, gaze averting toward the floor before to his chest. “I wasn’t..” - She paused, working her jaw for a moment - “I wasn’t going to say it, then I did and I just? I suppose I assumed you wouldn’t take it well.” 

She gripped his hands in hers a little tighter, feeling her hands tremble just the smallest bit. Felipe shuffled a little closer, pulling her hands up to his chest. She glanced up a little more and only just saw the downward curve of his mouth and her gaze immediately fell back to the floor.

“Which I know is silly! Es tonto. But…” She trailed off and shrugged hopelessly.   
One of Felipe’s hands pulled away and reached across to cup her face, thumb brushing over her cheek bone. She tilted her head into his touch and finally glanced up toward him.  
He smiled at her, eyelids lowered as he looked at her warmly.

“I’m glad you said it.” He told her. “I was, ah-” He let out a breathless laugh. “I was worried I had maybe said it too early and that, I’d upset you. But hearing you say it back is wonderful…” He pulled her hand up and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.  
Valeria snorted, taken a back and pulled her hand away to slap his chest as she grinned, face scrunching in embarrassment.

“As if! You only said it two days ago, Felipe. We’ve been dating two months! I don’t think that’s too early.” Felipe glanced to the side, shrugging with a chuckle. Valeria sighed, pressing her forehead back against his chest. “I just wasn’t sure at first but… If I could say it without even really thinking about it-” She grinned, realisation becoming more apparent. “-Then I really must mean it.”

Felipe sighed, folding his arms around her and pulling her as close as his could, resting his head against hers, glasses pushed out of place. He squeezed his eyes shut as he held onto her and she giggled, pressing her hands into his back and shoulder, gripping his shirt.  
He swayed he a little, before stopping and nuzzling his face into her hair.

“Te amo, Valeria …” He mumbled hopefully, voice hardly above a whisper.  
Valeria tensed for a moment, before pressing her face further against his neck, steadying herself as he felt the bones in her shoulder loosen with a sigh.

“Yo también te amo, Felipe.”


	4. "They're wrong about you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 21 - “They’re wrong about you.”  
> Oscar x Leonor  
> Canon-ish universe, after death.

The silence weigh thick and heavy in the air.   
The kitchen was hardly ever this quiet, especially in the evenings, often bustling with activity and conversation, but tonight was an exception.  
Oscar’s expression was solemn, a frown creasing his brows as he stared down at the table. He was slumped down in a chair, tilted slightly away from the table as Leonor stood in front of him between his outstretched legs, gently preening left over dirt and debris from his hair, beginning to flatten it back down.  
Oscar’s glasses were set down on the table and were folded as best they could be given their now broken state.

They had slipped into the Rivera household just as the sky had turned dark and had silently stumbled into the kitchen, Leonor steadying him from stumbling over the phantom pain in one of his legs which he had awkwardly twisted after being pushed sharply. 

 

To Oscar, this was just one of the rare incidents that occurred after De La Cruz’s outing as a fraud and a murderer.

A part of him, deep down, knew Leonor would have been involved in one of these incidents at some point. They were courting, after all.   
She loved evening walks with her hand tucked against his arm, often finding their way down routes Oscar wasn’t used to.

“I never really explored a lot when I was alive.” She had told him the first time they’d wandered through a park, and she sneaked her hand into his and led him off the path into an area with a small pond, sheltered from view by hanging trees and high bushes, “You wouldn’t mind if we looked around a little, would you?”  
He couldn’t say no as she blinked up at him, smile hopeful and her fingers gently squeezing against his.

It was maybe a week later when that one Día de Muertos came up, and they were settling into each other’s presence more. Leonor never saw the sunrise spectacular, nor it’s screening. She had been visiting her living family, her hermanos, hermana and parents.  
She’d only heard bits and pieces of the story, and was somewhat eager to know what had actually happened.  
He told her what he knew, as they had walked along a balcony which ran along just above the dark waters pooling beneath the land of the dead.  
She had been predictably horrified at the new of De La Cruz.

“What a horrid man…” She had mumbled.   
He held her hand nodding in agreement, brushing over how there were still people who were outraged that Miguel and the Rivera family had dragged the man’s name through the dirt.   
He didn’t want to make that man the centre of their date, and was more than happy to change the subject to the whereabouts of Leonor’s alebrije.  
But even then a part of him knew it would come up again.  
It was something they would have to deal with if it reared its head.

Leonor had met his family at this point.Imelda had just begun guided her through crafting shoes this morning and Oscar felt his chest burst with fondness over Leonor’s passionate determination.  
“Once i’m good-” She had said as they were getting ready to walk together after dinner, reaching up and adjusting his hat “-I’ll make you a nice pair of shoes.” He had laughed, pushing her bangs so the marking on her forehead was showing.  
“I’m sure you will, mi amor.”

It had been on the walk he had been roughly shoved over, and Leonor stood between him and the drunk who sneered at her.  
He remembered seeing Leonor stood defensively in front of his form on the ground as he man growled choice words at them both.  
The words had grazed over Oscar, honestly. Something about De La Cruz, the Rivera familia- He had heard it before. The man sneered something about the family as a whole that had really gripped at Oscar and made Leonor tense.

Oscar was nearly on his feet at the man’s words, but Leonor’s boot was in her hand and sent the man’s skull flying across the street with a loud thwack. He watched the man scramble, scooping up his skull as he flung another insult at them and fled.

 

Leonor had quickly spun about to help him Oscar and brush dust off his back, gently pulling him about and checking for injures, asked if he was hurt.  
She picked up his glasses, which had been flung off his skull when he hit the ground and winced at the bend metal rim. He had gently taken them from her, forcing a small smile onto his face. He stumbled a little as they walked and she instantly swooped in to hold him up.

As far as they could tell everyone was in bed. Both were lost for conversation as Leonor had gently set him down into a chair at the kitchen table and had begun her worrisome fussing.  
He glanced up at her as she still focused her attention on his hair. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, her skull and expression blurred by the distance and lack of eye sight. There were things he wanted to say, but he hardly even had enough strength or motivation to playfully jab at his partner’s fussing, let alone ease any worry tumbling around in her mind.  
His fingers pulled at the edges of his apron in small flicks. 

He thought back to the man’s skull being sent flying by Leonor’s boot and fought to not grin too widely.

“Ah…” He began, and Leonor’s fussing slowed as she listened. “Imelda’s lesson on shoes must have really rubbed off on you.” He chuckled as the scene played again in his head. “Did you see his face? He had no idea what hit him.” 

Leonor made a small noise akin to a hum as her fingers brushed down his hair again.  
Oscar’s mouth twitched into a small smile and he reached forward, hands settling on Leonor’s hips and pulling her in closer to him. Leonor paused, fingers hovering above his head, as she allowed herself to be pulled closer. Oscar wrapped his arms tight around her waist and held on, pressing his forehead just below her rib cage.  
Leonor sighed, and gently combed her fingers down the back of his hair, brushing the top of his spine briefly.

“It’s…” Leonor began, voice breaking a little from the lack of use, “It’s ridiculous, really.” 

“Hm?” Oscar hummed, uncertain.

“That they would… It’s not your fault. It’s his.” Oscar paused, a little thrown off at the tone Leonor’s voice dipped into near the end. He squeezed her a little and she huffed. She curled over him a little more, her arms resting on his shoulder in a small hug.

“I’m fine, really.” Oscar insisted, nuzzling his head a bit more against her. “This really doesn’t happen that often… It’s a rare occurrence, honestly…”

“That doesn’t make it okay.” Leonor muttered, agitated.

Oscar sighed, shrugging. “I know. But… What can we really do other than report it and move on?”

Leonor was quiet, her fingers gently drumming against his ribs. She pulled away and Oscar sat up to avoid toppling forward into her skirts. She placed her hands against his cheek bones and lifted his chin so he was looking toward her. He wished he could see her expression more clearly.

“They’re wrong about your family, and everything else… They’re wrong about us…” Her voice trailed off a little and she lent a little closer to him. “They’re wrong about you…” She mumbled softly. Her thumb brushed against the markings of his cheek. “You know that, right?”

Oscar nodded, leaning into her touch and smiling.

“I know, I know…” He leaned forward to press his forehead against hers. “I… Appreciate you being here like this, though… Gracias.”

He could see Leonor’s expression scrunch into a gently smile. It was warm, loving. It was her and he was at loss to describe how she eased him in that moment.  
She leaned forward, kissing him chastely.


	5. The bug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to do more with the kids from my Modern AU so here's a little drabble with Oscar and Leonor's son, Santiago with Imelda

"Santiago!”

The small boy let out a high pitched yelp, and spun about. He stared with wide-eyes, nervous gaze locking with Imelda’s icy glare.  
Imelda crossed her arms, glancing over the way the boy was kneeled over, shoulders hunched as he glanced toward something in front of him, his hands fumbling as he glanced back with a lopsided grin.

“¡Hola, mamá Imelda!” He greeted, voice raised an octave. 

Imelda lifted her head, expression remaining firm. She had spot him in the dirt of the garden, his blue hoodie wrapped around his waist dusty along the edges from where he’d been shifting about on the ground, his interest caught on something in front of him and out of her view.  
She had only come to tell him off for getting his clothes so dirty already, but had paused when she had noticed how quiet he was, how he wasn’t trying to rile up his primas or hermano. So different from the way he usually bustled through the house, bounced on sofas until he was caught red handed and scolded.  
But that quiet came at a price, and Imelda wasn’t going to stand for what could be if she didn’t intervene.

“What do you have there?” 

“Nothing!” 

Her question had barely left her tongue before the boy’s mouth opened and the word flung out. His mouth clamped shut into a tight smile as his back straightened. He shifted on his knees before standing, gaze on her as he turned himself toward her, arms carefully tucked behind his back the whole time, his body shielding whatever was in his grasp.

She eyed him, one brow lifting. She tut, hands moving to her hips as she looked pointedly at his arms. Santiago’s eyes flickered down as he brief glanced behind him before shifting on his feet, his shoes bumping together as he drew himself up a little more, though he still only just came up to Imelda’s knees.

Imelda watched him squirm for a moment, the small twitches in the corner of his lip and fast blinks as he averted his gaze to everywhere but her face briefly took her back to when she was younger. The days when her hermanitos stood side by side with looks of identical guilt written across them. Oscar and Felipe weren’t amazing liars, but they had managed to shift into more competent ones when they got older, when they had to try to worm their way out of their mischief and pranks. They were never successful, of course. Imelda knew them too well to fall for their tricks.  
She always recognised Oscar from Felipe, despite their identical grins. Oscar had learnt to not lift his brows the way Felipe did to better feign innocence, but neither had been good at lying or hiding their schemes for long.  
She saw so much of Oscar in Santiago in the guilty stance, in the way his round glasses were slightly skewered on his freckled nose, and it made her heart flutter a little.

But she had a good idea on what Santiago had hidden behind him, and she was not about to allow this possible mess unfold.

Imelda strode forward and Santiago leaned further back, feet firm against the ground as though he were glued to his spot. Whatever he was attempting to hide from her, it wasn’t worth running with, or he knew he had been caught, and running would get him in deeper trouble. 

As her shadow stretched over him, she watched his strained smile falter, threatening to break and give away the innocent mask only barely holding together.

Imelda knew the stance, and the smile and she narrowed her eyes at him, squaring her shoulders, a cat about to pounce on a weary mouse.

“Santiago Rivera Vera.” She began, voice level and low. His brows caved in a little at the sound of his full name being enunciated. She was warning him, giving him time to confess to his secret.   
His smile fell, but he didn’t move otherwise.  
Imelda frowned, leaning over him a bit more and he swallowed as he leaned away.

“Do you have a bug in your hands?”

Unlike his big brother Jorge, he didn’t immediately take to gardening. He would lean against Leonor’s hip with heavy eyelids, sighing dramatically. It was too quiet, too calm and he just couldn’t find something to put his focus into in the subject.  
Not until a bug had crawled out over his hand while he had idly been asking his mamá when she would be would be done. He had obviously been captivated by it, because he had instantly brought it back into the house, cupped between his chubby palms and excitedly shoved it into Hector’s face without regard for the chaos that could ensue.  
It had taken a day to find the thing, and Hector had been on edge after accidentally sending it flying into the house, which Santiago had been upset about more than anything.  
Santiago had found it crawling under the kitchen table, and caused another scene during dinner when he lifted it onto the table to show off to his twin primas, Ovidia and Violeta.

“You can’t take bugs out of their homes, mijo.” Leonor had settled him into her lap on the living room sofa, rubbing her thumb over his wet cheeks as he sulked, upset about the bug being caught and thrown outside. He was grounded for three days after the whole situation was over, which Ovidia and Violeta had rubbed in before being shooed up to their rooms.  
“You can’t bring them in here, either.”   
“But why not! He was mi amigo!”   
Leonor frowned. “You wouldn’t like it if someone suddenly picked you up and took you away, would you?”  
He paused, before he shook his head vigorously.  
“No.”  
“How do you think the bug felt, then?”  
He frowned as he mulled the thought over. “…Sad?”  
Leonor nodded, stroking his back. “Scared, too.”   
“Oh.” 

Imelda watched him squirm more, a frown deepening onto his face.  
He mumbled something, and Imelda tilt her head.  
“¿Disculpe?”

He looked up, expression desperate, “I wasn’t going to bring it in, ¡Lo prometo!”

There it was. Imelda huffed, straightening her back as she watched the boy, unimpressed.  
Santiago slowly pulled his right arm from behind his back and carefully opened his slightly closed palm to reveal a small beetle wriggling on its back, legs moving about as it tried to roll itself back over.

“Santiago…” Imelda began slowly as the small niño winced.

“I promise, I was just-” She glared, lifting a hand and waving it as she shook her head.

“Ah, ah, ah!”

“But-!”

“Shush!”   
She lifted a finger to her lips, gaze piercing. Santiago’s jaw locked and he cupped the beetle closer to his chest, which had managed to roll itself over in his palm, and was simply sat there, blind to the conflict around it.  
Imelda waited a moment, and her gaze softened just the slightest bit. She calmly crossed her arms again as she spoke.  
“Santiago. You will put it back where you found it-” Santiago went to speak, his mouth opening, before a sharp ‘shush’ gesture from Imelda halt him. “-You will put it back where you found it. You will come inside-” She lifted her brows at him, making it clear these were orders and not suggestions. “-You will clean up before dinner, and that will be that.”   
She waved a hand at him with a frown. “You cannot bring bugs into the house, mijo.”  
He nodded weakly, his eyes on the beetle in his palms.

“Sí, mamá Imelda…” He mumbled. He shuffled back a few steps and knelt down to let the beetle loose on the ground, mumbling something under his breath to it as it scurried away and out of sight. He stood, turning back toward Imelda who nodded.

“Wild bugs don’t make good pets or friends, Santito.” She eyed him as he nodded, shoulders low as he walked beside her. She paused in her steps, and he stopped next to her, stumbling over his feet briefly. She reached forward and cupped one of his freckled cheeks in her hand.  
She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his temple, pulling away and squeezing his cheek, causing him to giggle as he made a half-hearted attempt to pull away.  
She smoothed down his wild hair and entered the house.  
“Can I learn shoe making?”   
He suddenly called out and Imelda turned in surprise as he ran in after her, skidding to a halt as he grabbed her dress, tugging it excitedly. She gently slapped his hand away, eyeing the dirt.  
“Ay, careful! You’re still messy!”   
“Lo siento.” His tone was far from sorry as he wiped his hands down his front and Imelda huffed at the dirt markings left on his once white tank top. “But can I? I want to learn to make shoes! Like you, and papá and tío Felipe, and prima Coco and-” He suddenly frowned, glancing down toward the floor “Does Hector make shoes?” He muttered to himself, a little more quiet than before.

Imelda rolled her eyes, a smile fighting across her face. She continued into the house, Santiago following close behind.  
“I will not tolerate silliness, Santiago.”  
“I won’t be silly!” He exclaimed. “I can be grown up!”  
She shook her head, trying to not smile. “I will think about it, but it will do you good to talk to your papá Oscar as well.”  
Santiago nodded, “Okay, I will-” Imelda grabbed the collar of his tank top, pulling him back from running past her and toward the living room.  
“Ah!” She called out. “Clean first! Make sure there is no dirt on you and put on clean clothes. You can forget dinner and shoe making lessons if you don’t wash yourself properly.”  
Santiago whined loudly, but nods.   
“I will, I promise!”   
Imelda releases him and watches the small boy take off into the house.


	6. Last words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suggested prompts. Soulmate AU where your soulmate’s last words to you are written on your body.   
> Featuring Felipe and Valeria

Valeria remembered when the words began forming on her skin.   
She had somewhat been anticipating the arrival of the faint lettering, though she’d never say so aloud. It wasn’t even so much to do with the idea of having a soulmate, it was just because so many other had them, and there was a morbid curiosity to the whole thing.   
Even if you never met the person, you’d know their last words. Ones that would be directed toward you. 

The letters could appear anytime, on mostly any part of the body. Maybe never even appear at all.  
“They just appear one day,” Her mother had told her, her hand subconsciously touching the two words printed on her other palm. “Do you know their significance?”  
Valeria shook her head, because no. She didn’t really.  
Her mother lift her chin a touch. “These words are your soulmate’s last words to you.”  
Ah. Straight to the point, of course.   
Valeria wasn't sure why she didn’t expect less, but she still remembers the uncomfortable twist in her gut.   
“Okay.” She said slowly.   
“You may never meet your soulmate, bear in mind. Obviously, it’s a slim chance-” Valeria nodded, biting her lip to keep back any quips building in her throat. If it were anyone else trying to talk down to her like this she would’ve had some choice words for them. But mamá wasn’t anyone else, and Valeria could only listen as her mother spoke about how she shouldn’t focus on finding her soulmate based on whatever words she gets across her body, if she got any.  
She felt irritated, because a part of her knew her mamá was probably right. 

“I, ah, got my soulmate’s last word on my ankle.” Leonor told her on a Saturday evening. Valeria was seventeen and Leonor had turned nineteen just a week ago. They were on Leonor’s bed, both had been sat in a comfortable quiet, various fabrics and textbooks spread across the sheets. Valeria scribbling down a few study notes when Leonor spoke, voice quiet, as she pulled her needle through her currant sewing project, fixing up her little sisters hand-me down doll.

“Oh, yeah? What does it say?” Valeria asked, propping herself up on her elbows. Leonor sat up a touch more, bouncing the mattress as she propped herself up further against the headboard. After placing her sewing over to her side she reached down and pushed up her dress to show her left ankle. Valeria shuffled closer and squint at the words.

'Mi querida'

“Huh.” Valeria hummed. Leonor nod.   
“Sí.”   
“I don’t think mine’s come through yet.”   
“Maybe it’s on your butt and you just don’t know it.” Leonor grinned. Valeria rolled her eyes, exaggerating the movement for Leonor to watch.  
“Uh, I’ve checked, obviously.” She adopted a fake matter-of-fact tone, raising a brow at her friend.  
“Look, if I get my soulmate’s words on my ass, you’ll be the first to know.”   
Leonor’s cheeks flushed, but she nodded.  
“Gracias. I’m overjoyed to know that.” Valeria scoffed, returning to her notes.  
“I think they usually appear around the same place as, like, where your parents get them.  
Leonor nodded. “That seems to be the case, sí. My papá got them on his leg.”

When she was twenty-three, she woke up to find the faint print of letters against her skin. The sight of the unfamiliar pattern around her wrist fully woke her, and she pushed herself up in bed and held her right wrist in her other hand, fingers tracing over the words as she read them. She blinked, frowning down at her words:

'I wish I didn’t have to leave you'

...She stared, re-reading the sentence over and over as if something was missing. Her mind reeled over possible scenarios those words would be used. Words that were to be spoken to her by her soulmate.   
...A soulmate who was going to leave her at some point, by the looks of it.   
Would it be because of death? Was she going to have to watch her soulmate, her partner, die in front of her? Would he be leaving to go somewhere and never come back?  
Her papa had eyed the long sleeve top that was a much rarer clothing choice for her, but he said nothing. She showed Alejandro first, later in the day. Her twin raised his brow at the words and pulled up the sleeve on his left arm, exposing his wrist. Both quietly pressed their wrists together.   
“I suppose it makes sense we got our words on the same day.”   
“Yeah, it makes sense.” Alejandro agreed, still looking over the words on her wrist.  
Valeria frowned at her twin brother’s wrist.

'Te amo'

“It would be more helpful we had the first words your soulmate says to you.” Valeria huffed. “Then you know.”  
Alejandro shrugged. “But then I guess your looking. At least with these words, you’re just, I don’t know, living?”  
“But you could be with someone who’s not your soulmate.”  
“It probably doesn’t matter as long as your happy?” He shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t like thinking about it.”  
Valeria nodded, and they continued through the rest of the day intending to ignore the conversation and not bring it up again.   
She was sure Leonor had noticed the words, but she never brought them up unless Valeria mentioned them.  
Valeria began wearing a wristband to cover the letters. The more she could forget they were there, the more she could just live her life. 

In the various relationships she had, she refused to share the words, reclusive even if or when the men she dated shared their own words and sentences.   
“Look, it’s just not working out.” She remembered Roberto rubbing the back of his neck, as she stood across from him, the sun beating down against her back as she frowned up at him. She nodded, not sure about what to say.  
“No, that’s fair. This is probably for the best.” She shrugged. He looked her in the eyes, wincing with regret and disappointment. He opened his mouth, and Valeria felt a tight twist in her chest as he spoke.  
“I wish it hadn't turned out like this.”  
Valeria swallowed, trying to push down the choking panic that had begun to build at the first few words. They weren't the words, it was fine. It was fine. This was fine.  
Her shoulders loosened, some relief flooding through her as she gave him a melancholic smile.  
“Me too.”

 

“Date: May 20th, 2004. Ah, How old are you, senorita?”   
“Uh, 29. ”   
Valeria didn’t miss the slight wince on the man's face opposite her. Well, the skeleton man. On his skull. How the hell did skulls move like that?  
“My birthday is April 4th, if you need that? 1975.”  
He nodded. “That’s perfect, thank you.”  
The sounds of the keys hitting the bulky keyboard filled the room.  
As Valeria sat, waiting to have the forms for her death written up she thought. Mostly about her death.  
Her death. She’d really died then, huh?   
Of course she had to fall from a tree, as well. She couldn't have gotten something cooler sounding than ‘the branch broke’.   
Dios, what was she going to do now?  
She looked over her wrist, her wooden wristband clacking against the bleach white bone, clearly a little too big for her wrist now. She frowned, twisting her arm a touch and pulling the wristband off.   
Pure white. No words. No letters. Nothing.  
She blinked.  
“Final words don’t stay then?” She asked, not sure if she was expecting an answer or not. The clerk in front of her paused. She didn’t look up to see what kind of expression he was fixing her with, but she guessed it was pitying or sympathetic but the tone in his voice.  
“No, they don’t.”  
Valeria answered the rest of the questions in a somewhat distracted state. As she sat in a waiting room, her leg bounced. She was about to meet family she had only heard about, and family that had passed when she was just a girl. Alone in the room, her thoughts still occasionally went back to the blank space on her wrist bones. At some point, she slipped the wristband back on, hoping in vain it might banish the thoughts. Lock them away out of sight. She swore the wristband was heavier than it had even been when she were alive.

 

It took years before the thought of dating really came back to her.   
Felipe had been an unexpected appearance in her after life, but she was more than happy to welcome it.   
Maybe they’d been together for a year or two when she asked. When they were sat up on her roof with a few drinks and snacks. She leaned against his shoulder, playfully trying to pinch food out of his hands.   
“You have your own.” He whined, smiling at her as he held the treat above her arm length. She pout.   
“Yeah, but this is more fun.”   
“It’s unnecessary!”  
“Come oonn.” She drawled, pressing her cheekbones against his. “I’m your girlfriend. Doesn’t that give me some entitlement?”   
“To my food?”  
“Yes?”  
“No!”  
“Oh, you’re mean.”  
Felipe shook his head, finally lowering his arm. She eyed his food as he brought it close to his mouth. He paused, glancing at her.  
“Don’t.” He warned, fighting back a smile.  
Valeria leaned back, raising her arms defensively. “I’m not doing anything!” She insisted.  
Felipe stared her down as he ate, watching as Valeria grinned.   
He coughed, doubling over for a moment. Valeria rubbed his back with a frown.  
“You okay?”  
“Ah, sí, sí I’m fine.” As he sat back up with a final cough Valeria grinned.   
“That wouldn’t of happened if maybe,” She shrugged, “I dunno, you shared some of it with-?”  
Felipe circled his arms around her waist and pulled her in, pressing his mouth to her cheek and blowing loudly, causing Valeria to squeal and slapped her hand against his chest.  
“AH NO! Stop that!” She giggled helplessly, wriggling in his grasp. “You- AGH- you know i’m ticklish!” He paused, pulling away to blink at her. She would have believed his innocence if not for the proud smile spread on his skull  
“I don’t know what your talking about, cariño?”  
She squint at him, arms folded. She huffed and snuggled herself against him, head pressed to his shoulder again.  
“You’re lucky your cute.” She muttered. “Too cute. You need to stop. It’s illegal, i’ve decided.”  
Felipe chuckled, shifting to bury his face in her hair.  
They stayed there for a moment, the sound of the trolleys and bustling streets around them they only noise really filling the air. Valeria had always found the fake breaths skeletons took odd, but the familiarity of it carrying over from the living worlds was comforting in a way. She figured as she listened to Felipe’s steady breath.   
She was then thinking about life. Life before death. Felipe had obviously had a life before, well, he died. That much was obvious, but Valeria was only just really thinking about it a bit more at that moment. About a specific aspect.  
Then she asked.  
“Felipe?”  
“Hm?” Both of their voices were quiet.  
She swallowed (without a throat, but she was well past thinking about the logistics at this point in death.) and asked. “Did you… Ever get your soulmate’s last words?”   
Felipe shift a little.   
“I…” He started. “I dated a little but, I never met whoever was meant to say those last words to me.”  
Valeria nodded. “Ah.” She muttered.  
He was quiet for a moment. “...Did you ever…? I mean, do you know who…?” He trailed off.  
“Nah.” Valeria shrugged. “Never heard anyone say them to me.”  
“Oh.”  
“Mm-hm.”  
His fingers mindlessly stroked the back of her spine. She sighed, shifting her head on his shoulder.  
“It felt like more to worry about.” She admitted. “Being with someone. Dreading that they would say what you’ve got down as someone, maybe their, last words.”  
Felipe squeezed her gently.  
“What words did you-?” He began, but Valeria shook her head.  
“Please, I don’t…” She trailed off.   
“Oh, no, that’s okay. I didn’t- Lo siento.” She smiled, pulling back and reaching up to touch his cheekbones, watching as he blinked down at her through his large glasses.  
“It’s alright, don’t worry.” She leaned up and kissed him, a slight flutter of excitement swirling in her empty chest as he pressed back.

 

She pressed her hand against his, flinching at how white her bones were compared to his.  
He smiled at her, mouth not curving the whole way as though he didn’t even have the strength to do so. He was leaned up against the sofa, his limbs felt heavier than they ever had, as though he’d scatter if he dared move anymore. The last shudder through his bones had really hit it’s mark, and he could feel his bones trying to come apart.  
As much of the family was in the Rivera living room without crowding it, a solemn mood hung in the air. Felipe was more than grateful he had the time he had right now, the privilege to be surrounded by family and loved ones.  
Oscar wasn’t far off, both in space and, well, how forgotten they both were. It made sense to both of them that they’d go around the same time.

Even when they had first been courting, he’s certain part of them both knew this day would come. His bones were always a touch off in colour compared to hers, and even when hers had begun to fade in whiteness, he knew deep down there was a possibility he’d fade before her.  
His fingers twitched as he tried to close them around her smaller hand. Her other hand rest over his as she curled hers tight against his.   
“I love you. You know that, right?” He muttered. She smiled, eyes glossy as she nodded.  
“I know. I love you too, cariño.” His breath hitched a touch and he stared at her.  
She blinked back tears, wondering if he was hurting. He smiled again, this time wider. He pulled her hand close to mouth, and she leaned her forehead against his as he mumbled, the faintest hint of gold emerging at the edges of his skull patterns.

“I wish I didn’t have to leave you.”


End file.
